Borderline
by Animegrl1047
Summary: Had Lilith left Mordecai, Brick, and Roland after the events of The Vault Opening, met with Maya (who escaped from the Order on her own), and Angel did somehow escape from her prison, would things change? Probably... or not. A different take on the Borderlands 2 story; told from various POVs.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I should be working on another story, but... yeah, when Borderlands 2 came out, I played it and... this idea popped in my head since. God help me.

There are a lot of spoliers (especially in this chapter) to those who have not played either Borderlands series... and I am trying my best to keep these guys in character.

...that is, _if_ I can.

Only other warning (aside the massive amounts of spoilers) is that this is a DIFFERENT take on the Borderlands 2 storyline... meaning that this MAY be an Alternative Universe/"what if?" idea. So, if I wind up disappointing anyone with the premise of this fic, then I sincerely apologize.

**Disclaimer: **Borderlands series is owned by Gearbox and 2K.

* * *

01

* * *

_Have you seen an angry Siren?_

_Of course you haven't._

_But... just be glad you're not me right now._

_It's a pretty bad situation because Lilith is (or was) pissed off over __**her **__disapperance-_

_...Wait, maybe I should start from the beginning about this before anyone gets confused. I tend to do that a lot._

_Like Lilith, I'm a Siren- the rare group of people that have these tattoos on their left side and have "god-like' abilities... never make me say that again. I've travelled around Pandora with her for a while as my 'sister' (putting in that our ages are different by about a year or two... and no, we're not lovers, pervs) while doing these requests just to get by for food and rent... and some elemental weapons._

_Then we met Angel._

_She was running away from several robots while Lilith and I had to deal with an annoying bandit requested by Dr. Zed. So, naturally, the two of us thought the poor girl was in danger, so we killed off the bots and took the girl back to Zed's to heal her. One thing lead to another, and not only did we realize Angel was like Lilith and me, but she seemed really happy to see us. As to why... we didn't know about that until recent events, but that will come later._

_We decided to welcome her as our youngest sister._

_I'm guessing all of you were thinking that we were insane for taking a girl like Angel in._

_That was actually the best thing that happened to us; Lilith and I needed to know if we were the only ones that had a purpose to these powers. I wanted to know more about my hertiage as a Siren. Lilith wanted to connect with her other Siren sisters. Angel wanted freedom from... wherever she was held before._

_After Angel explained about her situation, Lilith suggested that we take care of Angel and help her discover her abilities. At first, I was wary about it. But I agreed after realizing Angel's situation (being holed up in a restrictive area until having the strength and motivation to escape- the thing was she did not tell us where and who she was escaping from) was similar to mine. Poor girl._

_Guess that also explained why she wanted to change her looks to that faux-hawk emo look and change her clothing. That collar looked painful... At least we threw that to the Skags to munch on._

_We managed to take good care of ourselves despite the addition._

_Lilith was trying to gain information about Eridium and the recent discovery of it. It doesn't help that she and Angel use it to augment their abilities... but it seems like they need to have a healthy supply of that stuff. Me, on the other hand... I hate Eridium and I never plan to use it. The __**only **__good thing that came from being with that fucking Order was that I managed to use my Phaselock abilities and maximize my abilities without using that mineral._

_Zed told me what it does to the average body. That was an image that left me awake for days._

_Another thing about Lilith was whenever someone mentions or asks us about the Vault that was released five years ago, the group that serched for the key, and... something called The Destroyer, she gets silent before asking to change the subject. Angel looks worried, but I was actually curious. What did happen to Lilith then? Ws she responsible for opening the Vault? I still didn't ask, but the curiosity was still there._

_Angel was secretive as Lilith; she never told us who her parents are, how did she discover her Phaseshift abilities, and details about her escape from wherever she was trapped from. She just shrugs and moves on to read books and listens to the radio._

_Me? I'm just as bad as them. I didn't tell them that I escaped from the religious nuthouse called The Order of the Impending Storm (six years ago) and convince a traveler to drop me off at Pandora. I was sure that Brother Sophis sent out peopleto track me down; that is until the day we came to a small unknown town Zed was moving to because of the amount of skags and bullymogs that begin to show up where he was before. It was calm for about a month or so, Lilith, Angel, and I lived near the area so we can handle various missions._

_Then the Crimson Raiders show up, which included Lilith's old companions, new faces..._

_...and Zer0._

_Things after that got worse._

* * *

"Maya! Wake up."

The blue-haired woman opens her eyes to see Lilith, who has the Hellfire and a shock pistol equipped. She also sees a shield and a grenade mod attached to Lilith's belt. Maya groans as she gets off her bed.

"Lilith? What time is it?" She asks, stretching her arms, "Did we get another mission or something?"

The red head shakes her head, tossing the blue cargo and belt, "Get dressed before the guys wake up."

Maya stares at Lilith, surprised, "...you're joking."

"Your weapons and equipment are at the top of the dresser," Lilith grabs her ammo as Maya gets dressed, "I made sure you got the Adaptive Shield this time."

"Good," Maya grumbles as she grabs her equipment, "Did you get spare money-"

"I prepared a week before."

"Your Eridium supply?"

Lilith pauses, "...I can deal."

The blue-haired Siren stares at her before shaking her head, "Let me guess... we're going back to the Eridium mines."

"Not just there."

Maya mentally sighs, remembering the real reason, "If one of the officers sees us, we're screwed."

"I'm aware of that," Lilith looks aroun the room, "...Let's go."

The two Sirens quietly make their way out of their room before descending down the stairs to see a sleeping Crimson Raider sitting on a chair, snoring softly.

Maya sees Lilith signalling her to wait before seeing the red-head to quickly vanish only to reappear in the center of the area. After a minute, Lilith motions for Maya to head for the door. Maya nods as she quietly makes her way over to the front door with Lilith-

"You may fool the rest / But to the hunter and I / you cannot decieve."

_Shit._ Maya freezes, hearing the irritation reverbarte in the assassin's voice. Even Lilith froze midstep as the two hear someone coming downstairs.

"You're really going to leave again, little girl?" Mordecai bitterly chuckles, walking past Maya and Zer0 as he walks up to Lilith, "Make me laugh."

"You...!" Lilith turns around, fury blazing in her eyes at the nickname, "What are _you_ going to do, _Mordy?"_

"it's not what you think-" Maya was about to stop the two when Zer0 grabs her shoulder, "Zero-"

"Leave them," he mutters, reverting away from his haiku speak, "Let's talk."

Maya sighs, biting her lower lip as she and Zer0 went upstairs. They can hear Lilith and Mordecai arguing as they reached one of the bedrooms. As Maya removes her weapons, Zer0 silently shuts the door before walking across the room.

"...are Axton, Salvador... and the others still sleeping?" Maya cautiously asks.

"Yes," Zer0 sounds exasperated as he sits on a chair that is near the bed, "Maya, answer me / For your foolish reasons / Where were you heading to?"

The blue-haired Siren sits on the edge of her bed, worry etching on her face, "...remember Angel?"

"What about her?"

_Zer0 does not sound happy to hear her name either..._ Maya winces, having a feeling his reaction won't go well.

"...Lilith and I were thinking of rescuing her."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **C'mon. Really?

My descriptions of guns are not very accurate. If anyone of you are willing to look over it and see if there are some errors as to how I portray these guns (these guns are the ones I am going to describe from both games), I happily accept the help.

And from the looks of this chapter, I cannot write action scenes.

Thanks for the reviews (The-lazy-bum; Casual Listner; Ana Nymous; RatedRSuperStar87)! Happy reading!

* * *

02

* * *

_It was when Dr. Zed asked Maya and me to kill some idiot bandit named Nine-Toes that we met Angel._

_Well, to Maya, it was new. To me... I have to 're-kill' a moron who has three balls ("Did he undergo some surgery or... something?" Maya asked; her expression was disgusted when I told her about the rumors about that damn bandit) wasn't exactly the best challenge to look forward to. A big whopping waste of my time and power._

_Only when we reached the camp they realize that it wasn't just Nine-Toes... there were other bandit leaders with him. MOST of them were idiots I killed from previous missions._

_Oh bloody fucking hell. _

_"What the..." Maya stared at the entire swarm before starting at me, "...I thought you said they all died!"_

_**"So I thought so too," **__Dr. Zed's voice came to us on our ECHOS, __**"Apparently Doc Mercy's been busy revivin' the dead... probably got the info from Ned. He must have struck a deal with Nine-Toes and those other bastards."**_

_"So we just grab whatever the hell Nine-Toes has gotten from Doc Mercy?" I was even amazed to know that Nine-Toes has an inch of intelligence to do something like this. _

_**"And get whatever info you have on Mercy," **__I can tell Zed wants to snap his rival's neck, __**"I wanna get the gold on whatever the hell he's been up to. Let me know when Nine-Toes screams for his mommy."**_

_"Great," I grumbled, getting my shotgun ready. I can tell Maya looks frustrated, but she pulls out an interesting sniper rifle. ...I admit, I didn't take her as the sniping type._

_"Nice rifle," I comment._

_Maya shrugs, looking at it, "A good friend of mine taught me how to use one back at Athenas," then, "...He gave me Morningstar as my gift on my eighteenth birthday."_

_Ah. Figures._

_"Lover?" I asked. Maya did mention about a friend of hers back at her home planet..._

_She arched an eyebrow before turning back to shoot at an incoming psycho,"He was my best friend; a professional."_

_An assassin? _

_**"Bad, bad person!"**_

_...did that gun just __**talk?**_

_Maya rolled her eyes, continuing to shoot, "...he forgot that this gift of his makes me guilty every time I kill a bandit. Apparently, he stole this gun from Hyperion."_

_Ah. That explained the unusual design._

_"Fantastic," I muttered, taking out Hellfire before I start shooting at the bandits who we're trying to head our way, "...Why does Zed need us to kill these bandits, anyway?"_

_"He mentioned something about a new type of weapon- GOT SOMETHING FOR YA!," Maya threw a grenade at the incoming bandits before crouching back down to shoot at other bandits, "-that he saw Doc Mercy give."_

_"Huh." The only one I could think of was actually Ned, but if I remember, we- I mean a few Vault Hunters and I- had to shoot that bastard several times because he wouldn't die._

_"What's Zed's deal with Doc Mercy?" Maya frowns, reloading Morningstar, "Mercy has a medical license... shouldn't he help people like Zed?"_

_"Nope," I shook my head, shooting and setting more morons on fire, "Mercy is more interested in killing people. Zed told me about some unusual tech that Mercy has that he wants some bandits to test. Nine-Toes must've been interested and took his deal."_

_"And here I thought they beg to be killed..." Maya grumbles, trying to take an aim for one of the incoming bandits, "_

_"Haha! Seriously?"_

_"First time I came to Pandora," Maya rolls her eyes, "How did you manage to deal with morons like these?"_

_"I just think how disgusting they are," I replied before seeing that Nine-Toes and other bandits were furious when they saw the carnage. I stood up, preparing my other weapon, "...might as well go down there and kill those morons."_

_"Alright," Maya was about to tag along when-_

_**WHOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMmmmmm BOOOMMMM!**_

_That caught our attention... _

_...and the group of idiots I was looking forward to burn with my Phasewalk._

_"What the hell was that?" Maya hissed, her eyes widened._

_"I don't know," I was going to say something along of the lines of 'let's just keep attacking those jackasses until they drop dead' until-_

_**"Someone, help me!"**_

_That did not sound like either of us... and I don't think bandits can speak in that voice. Not even midgets. _

_"Did you just-"_

_"So THERE you are!"_

_Crap. Our cover's blown._

_"Boss!" I gripped Hellfire, not saying anything. Maya looks angry as she grips her annoying sniper rifle, "I found them!"_

_"Well, well," We looked up to see one of the bandit bosses, "Looky here. Looks like we got-"_

_"AAGGGGHHHHH__**BLURGHBLURRRBURBURBRUBRUBURU UR-!**__"_

_Before you ask, no, Maya and I did not activate any of our Siren abilities. Otherwise, some of those idiots would have been either burned from either fire or corrosion._

_"What the-" some of the bandits looked alarmed as they look around to see the source of the shock. Maya and I were going to attack when more bandits got shocked by boxy looking robots._

_"What the __**fARGGGGHHHHH!**__"_

_Looks like the robots took care of the bandits; thank God Maya and I had our adaptive shields on. But that didn't stop us from seeing our target run away. He was panicked and was trying to get all of his ammo to hit the robots. Maya nudged at me, indicating that he was distracted_

_"Hey, Nine Toes!" I hollered before I used my Phasewalk and appeared behind a horrified Nine-Toes before pressing the Hellfire against his back, "Mind telling me what that mysterious weapon that Doc Mercy gave you?"_

_"W-What weapon?" He panics, "H-He gave me no weapon!"_

_"Liar," I made sure to back away quickly as I can before shooting him with Hellfire. When he collapsed, a red-orange weapon dropped from his hands; it didn't take me long to grab and stash it in my bag. That didn't us from our other problem._

_"Lilith!" Maya hollered, shooting the robots who now turned their attention towards us, "A LITTLE HELP!"_

_"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled before shooting the robots with- hang on, they're resistant to fire?_

_"Damn!" Maya curses, switching to another weapon, "Morningstar's doing little damage!"_

_"They resist fire!" I was not happy about this; what kind of robots are they? Why are they even here in the first place?_

_**"Use corrosion!"**__ ...that voice sounds familiar. Even I can see Maya looking at me in surprise before looking at me to see if I was the one who spoke- wait, no! I didn't say anything about corrosive weapons!_

_**"Help me!"**__ I was so sure I heard her before-_

_"You heard her!" Maya hollered, taking out her favorite corrosive pistol before shooting the robots, "You have another corrosive weapon on you! Use it!"_

_What the hell, might as well kill the bots._

_...was what I thought when the both of us destroyed the robots with the corrosive weapons. It even took Maya a while to recharge and use her Phaselock ability to send an acid cloud to disintegrate them. We finally managed to take care of a total of thirty annoying bots, two badasses, and one annoying thing called a Constructor that was trying to keep a young girl hostage in an electric cage._

_That last part surprised me and Maya a lot as we ran over towards the girl. We can hear Zed squabbling about inspecting Nine-Toes to see if we can find that weird-ass weapon, but I told him there was nobody else near the area and that it was just us and one other survivor; we can check it in a couple of minutes. It wasn't until Maya managed to find some Insta-Aid (and healed the girl) that the girl manages to introduce herself._

_"Angel," the black-haired girl croaked, looking at us with relief._

_"Angel?" Maya echoed, looking at the girl._

_"My name," she looked at us, "You two... you both are Lilith and Maya."_

_"Hold on," I stopped her, "How the hell do you know us?"_

_I can see Angel looking at us with her blue eyes, "I'll explain to you both later," she quietly replied, "Just get me out of here before he comes looking for me... please."_

_"Who are you..." I trailed off before Maya nudged me, forcing me to look at the robots' logo._

_Crap. Hyperion._

_And I had to work with them for a bit a while ago... why are they after this girl?_

_"Hang on," Maya stopped me from thinking more about this, "Your left arm... hang on. Those tattoos..."_

_...wait._

_**What?**_

_"You're... a Siren?" I echoed, looking at Angel closely before- yup- she has those blue tattoos like Maya and me._

_"...yes," she nods, "I have an ability... like you two."_

_I don't know whether to be elated or furious; what the hell's going on? Hyperion was __**capturing **__a Siren? For what reason?_

_"We need to go, Lilith," Maya looks around, "Let's get her out of here. We'll talk to Zed when we get back."_

_"About his weapon?" I asked. I remembered grabbing something odd from Nine-Toes, but I'll let Zed take care of that._

_Maya nods before she indicated towards something that was attached to Angel's neck: a collar, "This thing is... is it active?"_

_"It's a collar," Angel replied, looking pale, "He uses it to control me... but I'm at a distance where he can't use this. I'm not hear him..."_

_"We need to get rid of this," I frowned before pausing, "Hey... Angel? We're going to give you an Absorbing shield and shoot at the collar."_

_"We will?" Maya stared at me like I was insane, "Hang on- Lilith! Can't we just take her to Zed and figure out if we can get him to take it off from her?"_

_"Do it!" Angel cried out, extending her hand out, "Please, give me the shield!"_

_"Lilith, you are insane," Maya grumbled, giving Angel the shield, "Now what?"_

_"Shoot the collar with a corrosive pistol," I couldn't believe I was saying this, out of all things, but we had to help a fellow sister. I __**want**__ to help her. Maya looks mortified, but she took out her gun and shot the collar._

_It cracked open and the bullet was absorbed into the shield. But Angel was infected with corrosive, so I handed her another Insta-Aid before she healed._

_"Thank you," she sighed in relief before looking at us, "Now I'm free."_

_"So, you're a Siren?" Maya asked Angel, "What... I mean, why was Hyperion after you? What were all these bots doing?"_

_Angel fell silent before facing us._

_"I'll explain it to you... later," she murmurs, "Just... take me with you. Please."_

_...to be honest, I couldn't say no. Not to a fellow sister in danger._

-000000-

"So," Mordecai taps his finger at the table, glaring at the red-head, "What do you think you're gonna do once you rescue your so-called 'sister'?"

Lilith presses her lips, not saying anything except clutching her weapon tighter.

The two were the only ones inside the bottom floor of the Crimson Raiders HQ; the only thing that manages to break through the silence was the snoring soldier that was knocked out (from keeping guard all night; poor guy needs a break). It was just her and Mordecai; after seeing that Maya and Zer0 left to talk upstairs, it was Mordecai that decided to calm down and allow Lilith to settle her emotions. As much as she disagreed (to control her emotions, Lilith would much rather burn hordes of bandits, especially in the ones over at the Bloodshot Stronghold, but when has fate allowed that to happen?), it seemed to... work.

Somewhat.

_She's still mad,_ Mordecai mentally grunts. Had Bloodwing been at his side, she would have agreed with her master, _But I'd rather have her safe than sorry. _

"Lilith. What were you guys going to do once you _rescue Angel_?" He asked again, this time with more emphasis on the last part.

Lilith lets out a huff before glaring at the hunter, "Why do _you_ want to know? It's not like it's any of your business."

A sharp laugh, "Little girl... ever since you left us after we opened that damned Vault, including the rut we're in now, whatever you do _is_ our business."

"Great," she grumbles, "...Let me guess. The same goes for Maya and that ninja-guy?"

"We'll all a part of this group, little girl," Mordecai couldn't help but give a small smirk when she bristles at his dreaded nickname for her, "You still haven't answered my question."

Lilith glares at him before she sighs, "...fine. Maya and I were thinking of getting away from here _after_ we rescue Angel-"

"Even after what she _did_ with that bastard?" The hunter sits up straight, his mood suddenly changing as if someone threw ice water at him, "Hell no! _No way!_ There is _no way in hell_ are we going to _accept_ her _again_ after-"

"It was because he was _controlling_ her! She can control her own abilities, but not at her own will! Not after what happened back at-"

"Lilith! Will you _listen to yourself!_ You're defending someone who helped that... that _douchebag Jack_ and-" Mordecai growls before glaring at her, "Just- just answer me this! Why do you care so much about someone who _nearly destroyed the city?_"

"Because Maya and I took care of Angel _when nobody else would!_" Lilith's amber eyes were blazing with anger, glaring back at the hunter, "I should ask you the same _exact thing- _Why do _you_- _YOU_ out of all people care about _me_ so much? Why not Roland, Brick- or Moxxi? Just- _why me?_!"

He freezes, not expecting _that_ question.

If it was any other question that he could answer such as 'Do you want to kill Handsome Jack as badly as anyone else?' the answer was a resounding yes from everyone. Even Mordecai wants to shoot the shoddy jerkwad for various reasons; most of them involving... ah, does that bastard even deserve a list of reasons why people hate his monkey-ass so much?

Had it been 'Did you regret opening the Vault?', Mordecai would probably have answered differently; it changed the dynamic of the team he was with and how it affected them afterwards; while they did manage to kill off the Atlas Corporation, it didn't help with the personal drama each member was having.

But... why Mordecai cares for Lilith was a question he had wanting to avoid for such a long time; especially if it came from that said person.

And nobody understands why. ...except for Zer0 and one other person.

"You want to know?" his voice came out more deadly than normal; in fact, it had Lilith on edge once she heard it, "Fine... i'll tell you-"

"Uh- hello... You two. While we're sitting in the planning room, trying to figure out a decent _plan_, we can hear the two of you screaming your heads off."

Mordecai and Lilith jolt up from the serious environment to see the orange-haired eighteen-year old, her arms crossed and glaring at the two with her emerald eyes. She arches an eyebrow once she sees the two clear their throats (and their minds) from the shouting match.

"...sorry," Mordecai and Lilith mutter before giving each other an uneasy glance.

Gaige rolls her eyes before she sighs, "I've dealt with drama crap back at school. I didn't come all the way to Pandora to deal with this again. We can hear you two from the other side of the door, I mean, hellooooo... these walls aren't soundproof!"

"Gaige, what is it?" Lilith asks, not wanting to hear what the mechromancer had to comment about their argument. Mordecai hangs his head, thinking about the possible comments Roland is going to give him... along with Axton and Salvador.

"Leader Turret Guy says we're going to have a meeting. And he wants you two and the other lovey-dovey couple to get your asses together and join us in a meeting."

"Lovey-dovey-" Mordecai gawks.

"Huge guy said it, not me!" Gaige sports a devious grin on her face as she runs upstairs to find May and Zer0, "I'll let you two sort it out."

That left Mordecai and Lilith standing before Lilith grumbles, "...let's go. It's probably about Handsome Jack."

"No shit," Mordecai grunts before, "Little girl."

Lilith pauses, not facing him.

"We're still going to talk later."

"That should be _my_ line, asshole," Lilith mutters, seeing Mordecai getting ahead of her as they enter inside the meeting room.

-000000-

It didn't take long before Gaige enters in the meeting room, followed by Maya and Zer0. Like Lilith and Mordecai, the other Siren and Assassin had a tense look on their face as if they were in some sort of tiff or... something else.

At least that's what Axton noticed.

"Bud, the gang's all here," The blonde commando nods to the Crimson Raiders Leader.

Roland nods, "Let's gets some soldiers out front to guard the fort. Lieutenant Reiss," he calls into his ECHO, "Get some soldiers out to guard the area. I don't want any intruders or bandits coming in."

**"Yes sir!" **The lieutenant's voice is heard, **"All right soldiers! You heard him!"**

Once the ECHO cuts off, Roland turns towards the Vault Hunters.

"All right. Any suggestions for taking down Handsome Jack's new weapon?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I only play the game. That's it.

I apologize for the long update; here is the long awaited-chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

03

* * *

_I hate Eridium._

_Even if the mineral looks pretty, I don't like it._

_It was something Lilith mentioned that she was using to augment her abilities when I first met her. I heard about it again once the news of the 'rarest alien treasure' spread throughout the universe... hence why (as far as I can tell) the companies are waging war on each other just to grab their hands on Eridium. Eventually, as the current situation stands, Hyperion got their hands on the treasure and now... they are using it for God-knows-what._

_Once I saw what Eridium did to Lilith, I admit, I was tempted to use it for myself._

_...but when we rescued Angel and patched her up, she asked if we had Eridium._

_I didn't know why. That is, until I realized she too was reliant on the mineral._

_That was while we were over at Zed's Clinic when we were discussing about the odd weapon Lilith found from that fucker Nine-Toes (who is dead for... the second time. I hope he does not come back to life for the third time)._

_"Well, as it turns out," Zed's eyes were twinkling in amusement as he patched up Angel from the other wounds we couldn't heal, "I was just about to 'operate' on that person, strapped over there on my table, when you lovely ladies showed up."_

_"You want us to test the weapon on him?" Lilith asks, as if this was normal._

_"I have not seen that weapon before, but if I know what Doc Mercy has been up to these days," Zed bandages up Angel's left side to cover her tattoos (it was on her request), "If my assumptions are correct, the wounds you create on that poor soul shouldn't be normal ones."_

_"Meaning...?" I asks, looking over at the seething bandit that was struggling to get out from the table, "...well, time to let the poor bastard out of his misery."_

_"Great," Lilith mutters, looking at the gun, "Well, it's an incendiary... and I'm feeling a bit drained." She looks at me, "Do you have the stuff?"_

_I grimace, knowing that once she uses any of her abilties to an enormous extent, she gets drained. Not to mention her health begins to lower... _

_I sighed, taking off my bag and handing it to her, "The __**stuff'**__s in the bag, all wrapped up so some morons can't go near it," I can see Zed looking a bit worried when I mentioned that blasted mineral. Lilith nods as she looks though the bag before she found the bagful of Eridium shards in her bag._

_"Thanks," she grabs one before she fused it into the palm of her left hand... causing the Eridium to phase inside her. Angel looks surprised as she sees Lilith's tattoos glow orange. By the time Lilith rejuvenates herself with Eridium, she looks to see Angel biting her lips, as if she is hesitant about something, "Angel, is something wrong?"_

_"N-No, it's just..." Angel pauses, looking at the small Eridium shards that were glowing from the bag, "...it takes that little to restore your abilities?"_

_"I still don't get what's so important about those shards and you Sirens," Zed grumbles, rubbing his temples, "...though you, Maya... you don't seem to use it."_

_"I hate that stuff," I grouse out, "It looks like death to me."_

_"It's something that helps our abilities," Angel quietly replies, looking up at us, "...like Lilith, I've too grown dependent on Eridium."_

_Lilith didn't say anything, but I was surprised at this._

_"But you look sick!" I exclaim in alarm, "How long were you reliant on Eriridum?"_

_"It's not just from the mineral, you know," Zed grabs a sterile needle from a packet, "I hate to do this to you, Angel, but I've got to take a blood sample from ya just to make sure you won't faint on us. Not to mention how long you're been reliant on Eriridum."_

_"It's fine," Angel murmurs, "Just as long as it isn't up on the New-U Stations."_

_Lilith and I look at each other in surprise. How the heck did she know about the New-U Stations?_

_I didn't ask as Zed takes a few blood samples before placing them inside some sort of computer station that he has set up (it was before Hyperion decided to take control of anything network based except the independent ones) for analysis._

_"While that's going on," Lilith glances over at the black-haired Siren, "Do you need anything else?"_

_Angel nods, "...a change of hair and um... clothing. Please."_

_"Trying to make sure nobody knows who you are?" Lilith nods as she begins heading towards the door, "Be right back. I've got some stuff to help you with your hair and clothing."_

_"Lilith!" I holler, "Make sure to grab some food on the way!"_

_"That too," The red-haired Siren laughs as she heads right out the door. Zed grunts as he types a few things from his work station._

_"Thank you," Angel smiles, nodding to me, "I... can't help but thank you and Lilith for all the help you've given me."_

_"It's no problem," I can't help but feel sorry for her, "Why did Hyperion want to capture you anyway?"_

_Angel pauses, biting her lower lip before she looks up again, "They need me... for testing."_

_"And that collar?"_

_"It was supposed to torture me until I comply," she responds, gently rubbing her neck, "Thanks to your help, Maya, I'm happy that isn't going to happen anymore."_

_I'm pretty sure the skags ate the entire thing up. I didn't tell it to the girls while we left in the Light Rider car; those stupid things love to eat shiny stuff. Now with those robots destroyed, they'll be living the stuff like no tomorrow. _

_"Zed," I glance down at the gun Lilith handed me, wanting to change the subject,"Do you still want to see what that weapon does?"_

_"By all means, sure," Zed nods, glancing over at his 'patient' before pressing down at a button to force the table to stand up, "Blast away."_

_"You do... have another table to use, right?" Angel asks, worried._

_"Of course I do!" Zed nods, "It's in the storage closet in the back. I'd have to get it though."_

_"One dead bandit, coming up!" I holler before shooting the gun at the screaming bandit. ...I've seen weird weapons before, but why the hell does this one look like a laser gun?_

_I can tell both Angel and Zed look shocked as soon as the bullets came out and punctured the bandit before he fell dead._

_"Now what in the hell...?" Zed finally speaks, leaving his station as the scan analysis ran on the monitor (on the blood samples). He walks over towards the corpse (a little part of bit caught on fire) and turned it over to see the wounds made on the bandit. All I can see is that the bandit's body was riddled with larger wounds... not like the usual bullet holes that I see from normal bandits. (The table's ruined too. I'm surprised the wall didn't have any holes in it...) And- hang on, were those wounds glowing a faint color?_

_"I'll be damned," Zed mutters in awe, looking surprised, "Well, well. Looks like we stumbled onto an E-tech weapon!"_

_"...E-tech?" I echo, confused before I looked at the weapon in my hands._

_"Eridium technology," Zed stands up as I hand him the weapon, "Interesting stuff, actually... they're on the market to use as weapons now."_

_"That explains why your rival has this one," I mutter before glancing over at Angel, who look worried, "Is something wrong?"_

_"Hyperion has been perfecting their way of manufacturing a new weapon for a while," she replies, not meeting my eyes, "They're also using Eridium for another cause..."_

_I'm pretty sure Zed, Lilith, and I know something by now: Angel knows more about Hyperion than anyone else._

_And she looks up to reply, "I've been a prisoner of Hyperion for a while; that's why I understand these technologies that Hyperion has been creating. You saved me when they were trying to transport me to another facility of Hyperion's." She pauses, "When Lilith returns, I'll properly explain everything."_

_I nod, looking back at Zed, who nods as he turns back to his the computer, the E-tech weapon at hand as safety. I sit down next to the poor girl, "How long?"_

_"Since I was a little girl," she quietly replies, "My mother tried to protect me when she knew I was a Siren. She sacrificed her life for my sake."_

_" I sees" I nod before hearing the door open to reveal Lilith. She shuts the door gently before looking at the corpse, "You missed the action."_

_"I can tell," Lilith stares at the body, "...what the hell happened to that poor soul?"_

_"E-tech weaponry," Zed replies, not looking from his station, "Fix the girl up. The analysis is almost done."_

_I can see Lilith skeptical of the E-tech weapon, but she shakes her head before walking towards us, a new pair of clothing and a small bag at hand, "I've also got food in the other bag; for the three of us and for Zed. Pretty much figured you guys need something to fill yourselves up." She hands Zed his share, who takes it and begins to eat it as he waits for the analysis to finish._

_"Take out, I guess?" I knew Lilith doesn't enjoy cooking as much as I do (yes, courtesy of the damn Abbey; they taught me how to prepare my food)._

_"Yup; they've got some decent stuff," she handed me my food carton before handing Angel hers, "So, kiddo. What do you want to do after we eat up?"_

_"Change her appearance so Hyperion won't catch her," I stand up to look at Angel's hair, "...maybe something drastically different than the long hair."_

_"That sounds fine," Angel is smiling; at least she's happy to be with me and Lilith. And thank God she's eating._

_"And we got spare clothing for you," Lilith shrugs, perched on the wall as she bites into her food "I just grabbed the ones Maya and I couldn't fit into."_

_"Hmn, there are a lot of that," I bite into my portion before I look at it, "Hey, Lil? What is this stuff? This is delicious!"_

_Lilith couldn't answer since there was a small beep that confirmed the test is done. We turn around to see Zed straightening up, a frown on his face._

_"Zed?"_

_"Hey, umm... Angel," Zed glances at her, "From what I heard, you knew about the Eridium Tech, right?"_

_She nods._

_"You do understand that you Sirens need Eridium for your abilities?"_

_"Not Maya's," Angel pauses. Lilith and I glance at each other, not liking where this is going._

_"So... how come your blood's showing that you have pure liquid Eridium in your body?"_

* * *

"Handsome Jack's new weapon?" Maya echos in confusion, "I didn't hear anything about that."

She was met with silence in the room.

"I guess nobody's told the _chica_ anything," Salvador frowns, even when he sees Lilith's surprised expression, "...as well as Sis over here."

"Hey, we joined right when-" Lilith was about to snap when Axton places his hand on her shoulder, motioning her to be quiet.

Roland sighs, shaking his head, "It looks like we need to go over it again, but maybe that's a good thing-"

"By repeating the same exact facts over and over again?" Mordecai asks, leaning against the wall before he rethinks the statement, "...hang on. You got new intel?"

"From a colleague," The Crimson Raider leader nods, pressing a few buttons on the hologram table, "He told me about the supposed weapon Handsome Jack is building with the Eridium he's gathered; combining it with the previous intel we have before..."

Pressing another button, the hologram table stirs, causing the hologram to show up and project an image of what looks to be an H-shaped satellite. It had various electronics and lights littered on the satellite with a large glass center.

"Wait, so ummm..." Gaige was the first to speak, "I thought you guys said it was the satellite that Hyperion used to watch over Pandora. You know- the one that covers the moon."

"That's what we discovered is his weapon," Roland presses a few more buttons to close up on the center of the satellite, "The Moonbase is his main weapon. That's what's been causing all the attacks on Sanctuary."

"Not to mention the other bandit bases that tried to assault Hyperion a while back," Axton grimaces, "As much as I have to say this, they were pretty... brave and stupid to try to attack them. Even that Blake guy said so."

"Blake?" Maya asks, confused.

"Former president/From Hyperion he ruled/The bastard kicked him out," Zer0 responds, crossing his arms together.

"That explains why Blake went missing," Axton mutters, glancing over at the hologram, "I don't think that's why Hyperion needed that much Eridium though..."

"Eridium?" Roland frowns, "No. The Eridium is used for something else, but we don't know what that part is. That's why I gathered you all here; not just on how to dismantle and destroy the Moonbase, but also to find out more about the massive influx of Eridium."

"How _do _we destroy the moonbase?" Gaige asks, frowning, "Like... I see the diagram, but that means we have to go in there?"

"There is a station that makes you control the Moonbase somewhere on Pandora," Roland shuts off the hologram to reveal the entire map of Pandora, "We're thinking that's the key to destorying the Moonbase; if we can get to the controls, we can find a self-destruct mechanism to destroy the weapon."

"Meaning we have to get over to those controls?" Salvador arches an eyebrow, "Do you know where they are?"

Roland sighs, "Not yet, but I sent some Raiders to disguise as Hyperion soldiers to find the controls. And then there's the Eridium supply Hyperion is constantly grabbing; anyone got information about that?"

"I recall Zed mentioning about E-teach weaponry," Maya pauses, noting the attention was all on her (Lilith was still standing there, she can tell) before seeing the glittering interest in Gaige's eyes. A smile appears on Maya's face as she continues, "He mentioned that Eridium is used for weapons, but apparently, Hyperion is the one who developed the technology to use the element in weapon form."

"Aside using slag?/The supposed new elemental/that does weaken us?" Zer0 stares at Maya, who nods.

"That is, if you get hit by it," Roland grimaces, recalling the first time he was hit by the new elemental, "Gaige. Try to see if you can find out more about E-tech from Zed?"

"Don't mind if I do, big guy!" Gaige beams, he enthusiasm bouncing into the room, causing the others to chuckle, "Compared to my Clappie, this E-tech stuff sounds just as BA!"

"Maya, you'll be going with her on this one," Roland sees Maya nodding, "She might need some back-up."

"Got it," The blue-haired siren nods before seeing Zer0's gloved hand on her arm, "Zer0?"

"If you do not mind/I will offer my service/to aid these two." He glances ar Roland, who thinks about for a bit before he sighs.

"All right, fine. ...actually," Roland realizes something, "Axton, Salvador. You two are going with them; there's another thing I want you all to get."

"And you want our help,_ si?_" Salvador sounds too eager to begin shooting at bandits, "What's the mission?"

Roland presses more buttons to reveal the next location, "Unfortauntly, this involves you getting into the former Crimson Raiders hideout... Liar's Burg. You're going to have to find Claptrap."

"...wait, Claptrap?" Mordercai stares at Roland before groaning, "Oh God. That annoying piece of crap? What is he important for?"

The Crimson Raiders leader sighs, recalling the dreaded onslaught of Claptraps that tried to kill them once, "When we get Claptrap, I'll tell you why. Let's go ahead and-"

"We're **not** doing anything until we get Angel back."

The entire room glance to look at Lilith, who has been silent the entire time as she blocks the exit. The room went dead silent before Roland asks, "...come again, Lilith?"

Mordecai lets out a silent, seething groan.

"She is one of _us_," Lilith glares at the Crimson Raiders leader and the skinny hunter, "Angel knows more about Hyperion intel than any one of you-"

"_You know _little girl," Mordecai manages to prop himself off the wall (Roland facepalms, hanging his head in dismay, knowing pretty well what will happen next) as he walks over to Lilith, "That _Angel_ is one of Handsome Jack's personalle, right? You do understand that she _might_ have gathered information on _all_ of us when we met up again-"

"She isn't that type of person!" Lilith's glare narrows as she storms from her position towards Mordecai, "Remember what I said before or are you such a damn block-head?"

"I listened, but I'd rather listen to what my instincts say," Mordecai snaps back, "_Angel_ nearly destoryed the other headquarters before we had to relocate here. Why the hell do you think we're hell-bent to hiding ourselves? Yes, I know _Angel_ is one of your sisters, but that doesn't justify or explain _why_ she's working for our fucking enemy!"

"Didn't I say we have _no choice?_" Lilith snarls-

"_Lil! Mordecai!_" Roland growls in irritation, grabbing the surprised attention of not only the bickering duo, but also the attention of the five new members, "Stop! I'm getting really _tired_ of you two arguing over this when we should be working together to stop Handsome Jack! Now get our acts together and move it!"

Everyone were quick to move, not wanting to invoke Roland's wrath further when Roland's voice stops Lilith, "Lil. You're going to stay." Then he glances at Mordecai, "Remember that mission I asked you for?"

"...seriously?" One look from Roland made the hunter sigh as he reluctantly leaves, "Yeah, yeah, amigo, I know," The skinny hunter mutters a nod before giving Lilith a glare that reads _'We're going to have a talk later'_ before leaving the door, following the other five new Vault Hunters.

A tense silence fell on the room as Roland gently taps his fingers, glancing over at the red-haired Siren, "...Lil. Why do you still want to rescue Angel?"

She lets out a few breaths before turning around, her hands on her hips, "You already know why-"

"I know she is your sister, your brethern... and you want to keep her safe from Handsome Jack," The Crimson Raiders leader, presses a few buttons before shutting the table down, "You, Maya, and Angel were hiding from Hyperion for a while before... the attack on New Haven." He sits down on a seat, one of his ECHOS at hand, "It was a miracle, really, to even see you and anyone else again."

"I know," she sighs, her posture slowly relaxing, "It's just... that stupid Mordecai doesn' t even understand why we..." Lilith then lets out another exhausted sigh, "...even if it was just me and Maya, we wouldn't be able to get past through the security guards, would we?"

Roland shakes his head, recalling that he and Axton (along with the surprising help of Axton's ex-wife) had to swipe blueprints from Hyperion just to see how their damn secuirty works these days, "Nope. We tried. It didn't work. Not even Zer0 can get past the gate."

Lilith groans.

"At least you know a little bit as to why Mordecai and Zer0 were trying to stop you two," The commando can't help but wonder if Lilith has been distant from the group _that_ long, "They wanted to protect you."

That he can tell Lilith looks surprised about, "...wait, what? I... I'm going to repeat myself again, **what?**"

_Figures,_ The commando sighs, "Ever since the two of you came to join the Cromson Raiders after Angel was taken by Hyperion again, did you ever realize how often those two refuse to leave you two alone for even a single mission, no less?"

"I thought it was because we all agreed to keep our appearances a secret from Handsome Jack..." The Siren trails off before her eyes widen in alarm, "...huh. ...wait, WHAT!?"

"So you finally get it?" Roland can't help but chuckle, a small smile appearing on his lips.

"That- that stupid _hunter!_" Lilith roars in irritation before she takes a few deep breaths, calming herself down, "I can understand Zero's reasons, even for a little bit, but... no way. That asshat had Moxxi!"

"And Moxxi dumped his ass."

"When did it- How-!"

"A competition."

"I don't get why Mordecai would...!" Lilith just keeps sputtering before she groans, "This is too complicated..."

_At least there's one good reason you didn't stick around when you decided to leave the group after we opened the Vault,_ Roland mentally grunts, recalling _pretty well_ how much bandits they had to kill that day thanks to Mordecai's so-called 'righteous' fury; Brick knew about it and **tried** to stay far away from the seething hunter; Roland just went along with it before he realized that they were attracting far more attention just from killing hordes of bandits, "So... do you get it now?"

A muffled groan escapes from the Siren, "...somewhat."

"Your anger gone?"

"What do you think?"

"Good," Roland nods, "...because you're going on a special mission that requires a few days."

Lilith blinks before frowning, "...just me?"

"Sadly, yes," The Crimson Raiders leader _does not_ want to see her beat the ever living hell out of Mordecai, "...but you're going to ask **him** to come along and help."

"'Him'?" Lilith was about to ask when eyes dawn on the emphasis, "...wait, you want me to ask-"

Roland nods before gesturing for her ECHO device, which she gladly hands to him before he syncs her ECHO with his... and hands it back to her, "Just let him listen to him. He'll understand. He should be out over at Thousand Cuts."

"What if he doesn't want to return here?" The red-haried Siren asks, worried about the possibility of **another** fight; even she knows her and Mordecai arguing was bad enough.

"That 's fine," Roland sighs, "I need more time to write my apology to him anyway."

She nods as she looks through her ECHO... before groaning, "Roland."

"Yeah?"

"Are you seriously asking us to rescue-"

The Crimson Raiders leader nods.

"Do you realize how much she was a _bitch_ to us last time?"

"And I know that, but she's pretty valuable at the moment. Get her in here... and pick up some medication along the way."

Lilith warily stares at Roland, "...should I ask why?"

Roland pauses, "Let's just say she's more into the deep end now as opposed to when we first met her."

The Siren groans, "Great. Anything else?" It wasn't until she catches another bag before she peeks into it, "...um, Roland, what's this?"

"Your disguise. Handsome Jack must **not** know you're alive."

"Okay- whoa waitasec. **WHAT?**"


End file.
